Marriage Certificate Question...

I'm a bit confused about what to do for my marriage license. I live in Texas (Fort Bend County) and their recording says that you can use their marriage license in other countries. So does anyone know if the officiant will sign a marriage license for another country? Also Couples says that their marriage license is accepted in the US but no one knows anything here and with the horrible customer service you get with a government agency they are not even willing to find out the information for you. So if anyone knows please HELP ME! Thanks! Dee

We were married at CSA in December 2004. The marriage license you get in Jamaica is official and accepted in the US. I doubt they will sign a marriage license from somewhere else. You get a written copy of the license to take with you, but you won't be able to make any official name changes until you receive the actual official license in the mail about two months later.

Dee,
the marriage certificate that you will receive after being married in Jamaica is legal worldwide. Don't even worry about the Ft Bend County certificate. However, let me clarify one thing; you will not have a marriage certificate when you leave Jamaica. You will have a "certified copy of marriage register" (sort of like a receipt) and the certificate will be mailed to you in about 2 months. We got married 17 Dec 2007 and received our "certificate" on 14 Feb 2008, Valentine's Day. The certified copy of marriage register is not a marriage license and most official agencies will not recognize it as such. I attached a photo to give you an idea of what you will actually recive at the ceremony.

There's a difference between a marriage license and a marriage certificate. The license is your permit (or "license") to marry; the certificate is the document indicating that the wedding has in fact taken place and that you have married.

A couple wishing to marry applies for a license from the jurisdiction in which they intend to wed (Couples does this for you). Texas has no authority to issue a license for a marriage to be performed in a foreign country (or in another state for that matter), but a marriage certificate issued by Texas documenting that a marriage was validly performed in Texas would be recognized as evidence of marriage in other countries.

After you obtain a marriage license from Jamaica and marry in Jamaica, Jamaica will issue the marriage certificate. Once you receive the marriage certificate, you can use it to change you name (assuming that you intend to do so) with the Social Security office and the DMV. There's nothing that you need to do with it in order for your marriage to be valid in this country. Assuming that your marriage is legal in Jamaica (i.e., you are both of marriageable age, neither of you is married to someone else, etc.) then your marriage is legal and valid in the U.S. and every state therein.

We were married in Jamaica in 2005. In 2006 when I finally got around to changing my name, drivers license, ss card, all that - they gave me SUCH a hard time at the DMV about my Jamaican marriage license. I had to fill out some sort of document (I forget what it is called now) and have it notarized, proving I was saying who I said I was. It was a pain in the butt!!

However, I live in NC, so maybe you will have better luck than I did. Just a warning to those who live in NC and get married in Jamaica - expect the DMV to give you a hard time. I even had my new social security card BEFORE I went to the DMV. This didn't seem to matter.

Where is my license???

FYI: I got married 09/09/09 and am yet to receive my official license. This part of taking forever really stinks because I can't change my name for anything until it comes. Wish I would have known this ahead of time.

Hey guys, you might try changing it even if you haven't received your official marriage certificate yet. I took the one in to our SS office that we got handed in Jamaica in 2006 the day after we got back. They ordered a new SS card no problem. Then headed to the DMV and was able to change my name on my license officially also with no problems. I think it depends on who is working the counter at the time but I didn't have any troubles at all with the non-official one from couples.

I used the "receipt" that we were given the day we were married and had no trouble what so ever. I first went and got my social security card changed, then went to the DMV and then changed everything else. By the time our actual certificate arrived I had everything changed to my married name.

What about adding someone to insurance. Will the certificate be enough to do that? My fiance doesn't have her own insurance right now and the company I work for doesn't have open enrollment for insurance. You must sign up for it within 30 days of a qualifying event, in this case marriage. I guess that's a question for the HR department. I thought I'd give it a shot on here anyway.

Or....you could get married at home by the JP and then have your ceremony in Jamaica??? Just a thought

No. If you are married by a justice of the peace at home, you have participated in a marriage ceremony and are legally married. A subsequent ceremony would be a vow renewal. Just as the U.S. recognizes marriages performed in Jamaica, Jamaica recognizes marriage performed in the U.S. If you marry in the U.S., you're already married; any subsequent marriage entered into in Jamaica would be a nullity.

I just wanted to see if anyone else had luck with the bridal receipt you get at the ceremony. I'd love to get my name changed everywhere as soon as I can, so I can use my married name. It's a little awkward right now, wanting to introduce myself with my husbands name, but still having to use maiden name to sign everything till the certificate arrives.

We were married at CSA on 4/20/16. I was able to change my name with the one we signed at the wedding as soon as we got back. Social security office and my drivers license. We live in Pennsylvania. I was worried going but it was simple.

By the sounds of this thread it varies by state. In Florida you have to have a CERTIFIED copy of your marriage license, as well as certified copy of your birth certificate to change your name. Also a hard copy of your social security card. You have to have the "real thing" with raise seal, not a receipt.

As for the comment above re "nullity" license (not sure what that means lol). We were married 4/20/13 in Jamaica at CSA. Got the official license about 90 days later. We did a religious ceremony in Florida with family and friends 5/26/13. We have a marriage license from the State of Florida as well. I'm still working on getting my husband to agree to two anniversary gifts ����